“Aren’t you sorry to the fans?”
As Ian from Destroy Six entered the hotel room, he heard his member Chae Sun-woo’s yelling.
Of course, he answered nonchalantly.
“So, you went to the club again, huh?”
Chae Sun-woo grinned and flopped onto Ian’s bed.
“Man, westerners really… the mixed smell of perfume and sweat is just awful. I thought my nose was going to die! I guess I’m into Asians after all.”
“So aren’t you sorry to the fans?”
“Sorry? Please. Those stalkers, they’re just brainless. Every time I see them on the plane or find a note stuck in front of the hotel, I get chills, damn.”
Ian nodded but couldn’t agree with Chae Sun-woo’s habit of visiting clubs like it was his own home.
“Whether it’s those kids at the club or stalkers, they’re all the same. They’re both brainless.”
“Their faces and bodies are different, you idiot. Ugh, last week is coming back to me.”
“Are you serious? You went to the club last week too? You’re something else, man.”
“What are you talking about? Last week had a ton of schedules.”
Chae Sun-woo said, sounding a bit sick.
“You know that girl, right? Pinky.”
“Pinky?”
As soon as Ian heard the description, he knew who it was.
“Ah…”
The female fan who came to Destroy Six’s fan signing event.
Dressed in a pink fairy outfit with an angel headband.
She looked like she could easily weigh over 0.1 tons.
“Yeah, Pinky damn.”
She was a sight, standing up during the signing event and performing some dance like a girl group.
Of course, Chae Sun-woo clapped happily while smiling brightly.
“I was a bit impressed, I admit. I’ll give you that, your professionalism is acknowledged.”
“Yeah, damn, it’s those kinds of kids that ruin my mental health! Going to the club is all about maintaining my pro mode, you know!”
Chae Sun-woo, chuckling, sprawled out in pure drunkenness and turned his head.
“Hey.”
Smirking.
“Don’t face this way, it smells like alcohol.”
Chae Sun-woo ignored Ian and flipped open the laptop screen.
“Aren’t you sorry to the fan~”
On the screen was YouTube, showing Do-hee Lee’s video.
Her adorable self speaking French at an after-party.
“So, you said you got Do-hee’s number. Did you get it?”
“…I used my little sister’s name, but it didn’t work.”
“Sigh, you idiot, your sister must feel so sorry for you.”
“Are you bringing my family into this?”
“Sorry for that. I’m just a bit tipsy… heh.”
“Besides, she became popular by using my name when she debuted, so I can use it too, right?”
“That’s true. Good point, good point.”
A moment of silence, and while crawling to the fridge to grab a new beer, Chae Sun-woo, with a flushed face, asked again,
“She’s really sweet, isn’t she?”
“My little sister?”
“Your sister is nice too, but I mean Do-hee. She seems genuinely kind. Even though she’s 18, she doesn’t act all childish. There must be a real reason why your sister likes her.”
“That’s ridiculous. There must be a real reason your brother genuinely likes her.”
“So, that means I like her more. Once those kinds of people fall in love, they can’t live without it, you know? They go straight to marriage.”
“Wow, this guy was serious. Could it be a common taste between siblings?”
Since Ian was completely wasted, he let out complaints to the out-of-it Chae Sun-woo.
“What are you saying? But come on, there has to be some sort of connection for them to even talk. At this rate, he won’t even be able to say a word… And his number is…”
“Does he even have feelings for her? Wow.”
That’s when it happened.
Ian, who was openly searching for Do-hee Lee in front of Chae Sun-woo, saw a stream of articles about Do-hee’s contract being consistently updated.
“Whoa, what the heck is this?”
Chae Sun-woo glanced at the articles, an expression of surprise on his face.
“If this is true… Wow, she’s being treated almost the same as us. Considering she’s already been mentioned with Lira.”
Destroy Six just doesn’t have the same status compared to NND.
They’re a top-tier boy group, after all.
“But where did that leak come from? With all the reporters swarming, it seems somewhat verified.”
Of course, Ian didn’t find this situation surprising at all.
He understood it instinctively.
“Bro, haven’t we been in this for seven years already?”
“Right?”
“But after this long, you inevitably learn a thing or two through experience.”
Chae Sun-woo seemed too drunk to think straight, but…
“The entertainment industry is a place where even shameless people like you go clubbing without a hint of scandal.”
“Come on, what about you? Your ex-girlfriend glared at you every time she saw you.”
“Still, I’ve only got two. At this point, I’m pretty clean. What do you expect? I thought that dummy would be smarter.”
“So, what’s your point?”
Ian took a moment to scan the articles on the screen before answering.
“The public only hears the wild rumors that make the entertainment industry sound like a jungle, but they don’t know the truth.”
“Yeah, but isn’t that also case by case? There are plenty of innocent ones out there.”
“True, but it’s strange that even veteran K-pop fans can’t provide one concrete example.”
“Thinking about it like that, you’re right.”
“Why? The industry is small. Entertainment companies are ready to get rid of staff that disrupt business, and staff are so scared of getting fired that they watch each other like hawks. That’s how the unspoken rules were born in this game.”
“That’s a fair point.”
“In fact, you’re doing pretty well for yourself, bro. What have you done? Power plays, drugs, violence? You’ve just been clubbing a bit longer, right?”
“Wow~ Today, you’re really making sense.”
“But the shocking thing is that compared to you, the trash out there doesn’t even show their faces in front of the public. Once the outline is revealed, the rumors will spread like wildfire.”
Chae Sun-woo was now clapping in agreement.
“So, in front of the public, everyone is transparent, clean, and caring, right? What about that neighbor kid, Rookie? I heard he secretly did drugs overseas.”
“So my point, my conclusion is: scandals that erupt for no reason are almost nonexistent.”
In the end, most scandals are cases where a third party maliciously exposes something for their own gain or to cause the downfall of someone else.
Most of the time, it was said that a third party maliciously exposed information to gain an advantage or to cause the downfall of the opponent.
Unless, of course, someone with a low IQ was out there making a fool of themselves during a live broadcast.
“Well, the timing of this sudden contract appearing is quite exquisite, isn’t it? Is it a reverse viral marketing thing then?”
Chae Sun-woo’s suggestion made sense—considering reverse viral marketing was something no entertainment company could afford to skip out on.
Believing otherwise was just naive.
This was a common practice in a competitive market.
In fact, finding a category without both viral and reverse viral marketing was tougher.
Especially in the limited pie that is the K-pop market.
It was natural for things to be cutthroat beneath the surface.
Even fans of each group sometimes stepped up to contribute to the chaos.
“Thinking about it, Do-hee Lee really had no controversies. Even if she got criticized, it would just be for her edited photos or something.”
“So they must be thinking they’ve finally caught onto something. Just like our company, I bet JS, Habu, and Repro are all helping with reverse viral marketing right now in the communities?”
“Really? That much? We have that one girl in our company prepping for her solo debut.”
“Gong Chae-rin?”
“Yeah. She and Do-hee are pretty close.”
“Well, they probably are. But what does that matter for the company? Doesn’t JS and Habu have members from Seven? It doesn’t even reach the final decision-makers! The company’s made a viral team just to go for it without any personal feelings involved whatsoever.”
After briefly reflecting on Ian’s words about facing reality, Chae Sun-woo fell silent for a moment, looking at Ian.
“Well… we’re also relatively close with NND, so the company probably did some reverse viral marketing for them too. Of course, we’ve likely got a lot more back from them than we gave… right?”
But it seemed Ian was already lost in another thought.
“But, hyung. Don’t you think this issue won’t significantly impact Debonaire’s group performance? Just this?”
“Really? Is that so?”
“Of course, their growth might take a hit temporarily. But somehow, I feel like they’ll bounce back quicker and do better than us. It’s just a feeling.”
“That might be true, but… it won’t be easy.”
“Exactly. But hyung, listen…”
“What?”
Ian finally said with a pouting face.
“If that happens, Do-hee and I might never cross paths again in our lives.”
“What?”
“Ugh… I should’ve been the MC for music shows…”
He even scratched his head in frustration.
“So, hyung, can I ask you for a favor?”
“A favor?”
“It’s not a big deal… Just after I take a nap and sober up.”
Then Ian started clicking on his laptop’s notepad.
“Can you read the script I wrote? If I went after her directly, it would only bring negativity. Apologize later and comfort her. Chat a bit, okay? Please~”
Chae Sun-woo paused while reading the shoddy script on the screen and eventually burst into laughter in disbelief.
“This guy is really out of his mind for sure.”
[Destroy Six Broad Targeting Summary]
1. On the day of their overseas tour ending, Destroy Six’s Chae Sun-woo and fellow member Ian went live, responding to fans’ questions about their feelings and began discussing their initial aspirations.
(Excerpt)
Chae Sun-woo: As you all know, our group started with the title of ZY under one of the big four entertainment agencies, but our initial results were worse than expected. Oh, of course, compared to our seniors. Still, I feel like that helped us stay humble and maintain our original intentions. After wrapping up this overseas tour, I suddenly remembered the day we first stepped on stage…
Ian: Ah, he’s so moved today. He cried a lot alone, you know.
Chae Sun-woo: Hey, hey! Don’t say that.
Ian: The reason his eyes are puffy is because of that…
Chae Sun-woo: Anyway! If things had gone smoothly from the start, and if people around me had coddled me because of the special circumstances, I might have caught that celebrity syndrome and become arrogant… (laughter) Thank goodness that didn’t happen.
─But hearing this, fans, especially the non-Korean ones, began to flood the chat mentioning each idol one by one.
[Reading Comments]
Ian: Everyone, please don’t engage in reckless speculation.
Chae Sun-woo: What I mean is, there are just such people… I just wish we could all live with basic courtesy. I think it feels different since we’re from different generations… Perhaps it’s because of individualism that they’re embarrassed. Those people might also be struggling to express their feelings properly.
2. The broadcast was suddenly cut short after this.
3. However, foreign fans quickly sought out all the idols who had been in contact with Destroy Six in the past few months.
4. After seeing Do-hee’s challenge, they’re recklessly hurling accusations, reaffirming their belief in their target.
5. Chae Sun-woo, sensing the seriousness of the situation, quickly apologized that the accused artist was definitely not the case.
6. Nonetheless, foreign fans claimed they made Chae Sun-woo apologize and are currently terrorizing Do-hee’s Instagram and Debonaire’s YouTube with insults.
*
Jung So-hyun stepped out of the chilly meeting room and was relaying the words of a rookie road manager from Debonaire to Team Leader Yu Young-ho.
“Do-hee just finished filming an advertisement and is on her way to the office separately.”
“What about her phone? Did you make sure she can’t see anything?”
“According to the team leader, she probably has already seen it…”
Jung So-hyun let out a deep breath.
Her head was throbbing.
Due to the characteristics of the foreign K-pop market, dependent on a limited number of minor listeners rather than the mainstream audience, being targeted by a fandom that ranks among the top three was a serious issue.
Moreover, given their largely minor disposition, there were unfortunately many malicious cases among them.
The likelihood of interference during upcoming activities was high.
But Jung So-hyun decided to put her thoughts aside.
‘For now…’
“…the rest of the members are all at the dorm right now, right?”
“Yes, that’s likely…”
“Please let them know I’ll head over after a bit.”
Do-hee, of course, was involved, as were the members.
As the protector, it was her primary duty to reassure them all.
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